The infamous mechanical hand from the Nightmare on Elm Street film series has been recreated by Splendora resident Brian Sills many times as part of his prop business, Demented Glove Works.

The infamous mechanical hand from the Nightmare on Elm Street film series has been recreated by Splendora resident Brian Sills many times as part of his prop business, Demented Glove Works.

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Local resident Brian Sills has dedicated countless hours to creating mechanical prop hands for several film characters. He has focused much of his efforts on recreating the mechanical hand from the Freddy Krueger character from the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. less

Local resident Brian Sills has dedicated countless hours to creating mechanical prop hands for several film characters. He has focused much of his efforts on recreating the mechanical hand from the Freddy ... more

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Local prop builder turns ‘Nightmare’ into personal dream

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Most people can’t tell when certain props are used during the filming of a motion picture, but for Splendora resident and prop maker Brian Sills, that is just part of the process of watching a film.

It is also one of the many advantages that encouraged Sills to pursue his passion for making film props, specifically, mechanical prop hands like those worn by the classic Nightmare on Elm Street villain Freddy Krueger.

“I’ve been making the hands for about five years and had really been interested in the process and how to make mechanical hands since I saw the movie when I was a kid,” said Sills, who admits that as he grew up his participation in the craft waned, though his love for it never did.

One of his three children brought the interest back to mind when she requested to be the cult horror film character for Halloween.

After some searching for a mechanical hand to finish the costume, Sills was reminded of his enthusiasm and made the decision to make the hand himself.

Though his children no longer share his love of the character, Sills still spends hours in his workshop each day crafting the hands to perfection.

“It takes about four or five hours for each one if I was to sit down and make it, from start to finish,” said Sills. “Typically, the turn-around time is about a month. Right now, I am working on about six of them and I get orders and inquiries about them all of the time.”

The prop enthusiast has also garnered a strong fan following with his work over the years, and has used his earned reputation as a trustworthy prop engineer to help keep the fan base growing.

“A lot of people don’t realize this but there is actually a pretty strong ‘Freddy’ community online,” said Sills, who has taken orders from interested patrons spanning the globe.

Sills also considers himself to be a perfectionist, as well as a member of prop engineers who still use an “old school” mentality when working to complete their product.

“For the most part, people in the community stay in touch. There are a few Facebook groups that are dedicated to Nightmare on Elm Street and we have actually had the original glove builder get online and speak with us a few times.”

Like many horror film aficionados, Sills feels that the original is the best.

“My personal favorite film and favorite glove to make is the one from part one. It is also one of the hardest to get right. There are so many little details and nothing on it is the same from left to right. It is actually a nightmare to build,” said Sills, jokingly.

Sills uses his extensive knowledge of the film series, as well as his keen eye for the mechanics of the glove, to aid him in creating the perfect finished prop.

“Freddy only has one glove and in the first film, the main glove had real, sharpened knives,” said Sills. “They also used fake knives for safety reasons. They probably used at least 50 total gloves from start to finish in the films and all of the heroes used real knives. Most people wouldn’t notice the difference but I try to get all of the details right so I notice most of that when I watch the movies.”

Sills intends to continue his endeavor. He has started his own website, aptly named Demented Glove Works, and he continues to attempt to perfect his craft. His work has even gained him screen credits in a locally-produced parody of the campy cult classic, the Evil Dead.

“I’m always researching and I think I will continue to do that as long as I am making these,” said Sills. “I have a theory that you can give someone all of the information that they need, but unless they have the time, the patience and the skills to perfect it, it won’t be right. The way I see it, I am only as good as my last glove.”

For more information on Sills’ work, visit his web page at www.dgwgloves.com, or email him at briansills76@gmail.com.